One More Question
by jodm
Summary: He's LAPD's most unconventional homicide detective. He's always got just one more question. And now he needs Five-O's help to find the answers. A Five-O - Columbo crossover.


_Hawaii Five-O and Columbo belong to others. No copyright infringement is intended._

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**ONE MORE QUESTION**

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"Miss?"

Five-O secretary Jenny Sherman looked up at the man approaching her desk: wild dark hair, rumpled aloha shirt, squint-eyed appearance, an unlit cigar in one hand. "Yes?" the imperturbable secretary queried. "Can I help you?" She wondered if this guy was one of the detectives' contacts.

The man pulled out a scarred leather badge case, opening it to reveal the gold shield inside.

"Lt. Columbo, LAPD. I'd like to see Mr. McGarrett. I need his help with a small problem."

Jenny choked back a laugh. This man was a detective? A police officer? He looked more like someone the guys would bring in for questioning. The badge looked real enough, though. She took a chance and buzzed her boss. "Steve? There's a Lt. Columbo here to see you. Says he's from LAPD."

Steve McGarrett hated to be interrupted during the morning briefing with his detectives. They already had a full plate of cases. Now one more? The lead detective caught the brief smirk that crossed his second-in-command's face. Danno never could hide his feelings! Steve was about to reply when the koa wood door opened to admit the most unlikely apparition he'd seen in a while. The man looked as if he'd slept in his clothes. And that cigar! At least it wasn't lit.

Columbo flashed his badge. "Sorry to disturb your meeting, Mr. McGarrett. I was over at HPD this morning, but they referred me to you. It's about an extradition case, charges of Murder One. Haven't caught the guy yet, but it's only a matter of time. They always trip themselves up. At least that's what Mrs. Columbo - that's my wife - says. We're on vacation, but I got this call from my boss asking me to handle the case. Since this is your jurisdiction . . ." the officer rambled on.

Steve glared at his detectives as they attempted to stifle their chuckles. The boss wasn't exactly known for his patience. He shot a look at Chin and Kono. "Don't you have work to do?" The two men nodded as they left the office, aware that one of the morning's tasks would be checking on the credentials of one Lt. Columbo.

"That guy's a detective?" Kono laughed. "He looks more like one of Danny's snitches!" Chin agreed with a smile as he went to his office to call LAPD. The two detectives headed over to HPD a few minutes later.

Columbo did look more like an informant than a police officer, but something about the man made McGarrett take him at his word. Steve motioned to Danny to stay as he invited the LA cop to describe the case.

"It's like this," the rumpled detective began, "We've been investigating this small import company, jointly owned by two men: Ted Anderson and Jimmy Hong. They specialize in toys from the Orient. Nothing expensive, you understand, just things like stuffed animals and novelties."

"And I'll bet the stuffed animals had something special in their stuffing," Danny interjected.

"You got a smart cop here," Columbo complimented. "They did-Hong and Anderson were using them to smuggle drugs into the country. We were able to track down their LA contacts and break up the drug trafficking, even arrested Anderson and Hong."

"I can guess what happened next," Steve said. "They were let out on bail."

"Right. Then I got this phone call. Hong's been shot-murdered-and Anderson skipped. He was last seen heading for Honolulu. The Department put out a warrant for his arrest, suspicion of murder."

"So you'd like our help in tracking him down? We'll need a description, photos, fingerprints, any other information you can supply. Does he have any contacts here?" Steve's questions confirmed Five-O's interest in the case.

Columbo grinned. "Funny you should mention it. I took the liberty of having everything telexed here and to HPD. Your secretary should be getting it any time now."

As if on command, Jenny knocked and entered the office. "Steve," she began, "Lt. Columbo had this material sent to you. Are we helping on a case with LAPD?"

"It seems we are," the dark-haired detective said with a wry grin. "Thanks." Then, to Danny, "Looks like we've got some homework to do. Work with the Lieutenant on this. I've got a meeting with the Governor, so we'll meet after lunch when Chin and Kono return."

Danny's "Got it, Steve," was all the reply the boss needed. The younger detective moved to return to his own cubicle when the lieutenant added, "Just one more thing. This is joint jurisdiction—and LA gets him first."

McGarrett shook his head as Danny and Columbo left the office. _"Only if Anderson doesn't break any laws here," he thought. _ This was going to be an interesting case—in more ways than one!

_oooooooooo_

"So, you think Anderson may be guilty of murdering his partner?" Danny questioned the LA cop. The man seemed so sure of himself. "Why?"

"Not think," Columbo responded, "I'm certain. Just got to find a way to make him admit it. After all, Hong was gonna to turn state's evidence."

"So you have a possible motive." Williams, like his boss, did not readily jump to conclusions without at least some evidence. "What about opportunity? Means?"

"Anyone can buy a gun in LA if you know the right people. I'm working on the opportunity angle. Got to figure out a possible time line but he probably got here in the last 36 hours."

Danny sighed as he sifted through the papers on his desk. "I'll have HPD put out an APB on Anderson. Any aliases he could be using? What about local or overseas contacts? He may have plans to leave the island in a day or so at most. He's got to know that it isn't safe for him here-only so many places _(Almost too many, the young officer thought.)_ to hide on this rock. They'll check the airlines, too. I'm guessing he used an alias, probably paid cash."

The lieutenant ran his hand through his unruly dark hair. "So, let's get started, Detective."

A quick call to Chin and Kono at HPD set things in motion, then Williams turned to the LA cop. "Any idea why Anderson'd head here? Any contacts?"

Columbo grinned. "Funny you should ask. We think his main supplier is located in Honolulu. Don't know who he is, though. The guy seems to operate just below the radar."

"Big Chicken," Dan muttered. "Sounds like his M.O."

"Big Chicken?" the other man queried.

"Real name's Henry Bauer. He's been a suspect in several major drug deals, but there's never been enough evidence to put him away. If Anderson's connected with him . . ."

"We could see both of them behind bars," the L.A. detective finished as he chewed on his cigar. "When we find this Chicken, we'll find my suspect."

"You sound very sure of that. It's a possibility, but only that." Dan shook his head.

"I'm sure, all right," the LA cop smirked. "I've got an instinct about these things. Been working homicide almost 20 years."

Williams grinned at his Mainland colleague. "You're beginning to sound like Steve."

Columbo scratched his head. "I guess I should take that as a compliment." He indicated the printouts from LAPD. "I'll go over these with you. You might see something I missed." He chewed on his cigar as he picked up the papers.

_o-o-o-o-o_

At first, the printout seemed to be just a longer version of the LA detective's rambling summary. Dan studied the attached photo of the suspected killer as he commented, "The report says that Hong was killed with a bullet from a .22. So, where's the gun? Does LAPD have it?"

"We do," the older detective replied. Anderson pawned it. One of our guys was checking the local shops for something on another case when he noticed this new .22 in the display case. The description of the guy who brought it in fit Anderson. I had ballistics check it - our people are real good - and they matched the bullets. Now all we got to do is find Anderson."

"Before he kills someone else," Danny finished the thought.

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_**Note: **Bauer (Big Chicken) and Borland are borrowed from my stories "Mistaken Identity" and "Chicken Feed."_


End file.
